ذَكَرتُ أَخي المُخَوَّلَ بَعدَ يَأسٍ
فَهاجَ عَلَيَّ ذِكراهُ اِشتِياقي
I recalled my beloved brother after despair had set in
And the memory of him stirred my yearning
فَلا أَنسى أَخي ما دُمتُ حَيّاً
وَإِخواني بِأَقرِيَةِ العَناقِ
I shall never forget my brother as long as I live
And my brothers in the bosom of intimacy
فَوارِسُنا بِدارَأَ ذي قِساءٍ
وَأَيسارُ الهَرِيَّةِ وَالطِراقِ
Our horsemen in the abode of Dara were steadfast
As were the cavalry on the right and the left flank
يَجُرّونَ الفِصالَ إِلى النَدامى
بِرَوضِ الحَزنِ مِن كَنَفَي أُفاقِ
They dragged away the captives to the women mourners
In the garden of sorrow from the horizon’s embrace
وَيُغلونَ السِباءَ إِذا لَقوهُ
بِرُبعِ الخَيلِ وَالشَولِ الحِقاقِ
And they captured the prisoners whenever they met them
With the cavalry and the drawn swords clashing
إِذا اِتَّصَلوا وَقالوا يالَ غَرفٍ
وَراحوا في المُحَبَّرةِ الرِقاقِ
When they joined ranks and said, come closer!
They marched off in the wide open desert
أَجابَكَ كُلُّ أَروَعَ شَمَّرِيٌّ
رَخِيُّ البالِ مُنطَلِقُ الخَناقِ
Every noble spirited and easy going Shammar knight responded
One who sheds cares and charges into the fray
أُناسٌ صالحونَ نَشَأتُ فيهُم
فَأَودَوا بَعدَ إِلفٍ وَاِتِّساقِ
Righteous people I was raised among
After intimacy and harmony they passed away
مَضَوا لِسَبيلِهِم وَلَبِثتُ عَنهُم
وَلَكِن لا مَحالَةَ مِن لَحاق
They went about their business and I was left without them
But meeting later is inevitable
كَذي الأُلّافِ إِذ أَدلَجنَ عَنهُ
فَحَنَّ وَلا يَتوقُ إِلى مَتاقِ
Like a camel missing its accustomed herd
Yearning and not ceasing its desire for them
أَرى الدُنيا وَنَحنُ نَعيثُ فيها
مُوَلِّيَةً تَهَيَّأُ لِاِنطِلاقِ
I see the world as we lead debauched lives in it
Ready to move on from it
أَعاذِلَ قَد بَقيتُ بَقاءَ نَفسٍ
وَما حَيٌّ عَلى الدُنيا بِباقِ
My peers have passed away and only my soul remains
No living soul lasts forever in this world
كَأَنَّ الشَيبَ وَالأَحداثَ تَجري
إِلى نَفسِ الفَتى فَرَسا سِباقِ
It is as if old age and vicissitudes race
To reach the soul of a youth like racers
فَإِمّا الشَيبُ يُدرِكُهُ وَإِمّا
يُلاقي حَتفَهُ فيما يُلاقي
Either old age will overtake him
Or he will meet his death as decreed
فَإِن تَكُ لُمَّتي بِالشَيبِ أَمسَت
شَميطَ اللَونِ واضِحَةَ المشاقِ
If the locks of my hair turn white in the evening
Becoming gray of color and white at the temples
فَقَد أَغدو بِداجِيَةٍ أُراني
بِها المُتَطَلِّعاتِ مِن الرِواقِ
I walk in the mornings with a staff that makes me look
To those watching from balconies like zebras terrified
إِلَيَّ كَأَنَّهُنَّ ظِباءُ قَفرٍ
بَرهَبى أَو بِباعِجَتي فِتاقِ
Or like a camel with mange amazed by me
And some coquettish beauties glance at me
وَقَد تَلهو إِلَيَّ مُنَعَّماتٍ
سَواجي الطَرفِ بِالنَظَرِ البِراقِ
Batting their lashes with shining eyes
They gaze at possibilities without fulfillment
يُرامِقنَ الحِبالَ بَغَيرِ وَصلٍ
وَلَيسَ وِصالُ حَبلي بِالرِماقِ
For binding ties with me are not within reach
The promise of singers is like the promise of the treacherous
وَعَهدُ الغانِياتِ كَعَهدِ قَينٍ
وَنَت عَنهُ الجَعائِلُ مُستَذاقِ
And the twisting curling locks turn away from it
Like the arrival of misfortune, he who sees it is amazed
كَجُلبِ السَوءِ يُعجَبُ مَن رَآهُ
وَلا يَشفي الحَوائِمَ مِن لَماقِ
But it does not quench the thirst of the bereaved for their loved ones
So my demise while leading the camel train is not far off
فَلا يَبعَد مَضائي في المَوامي
وَإِشرافي العلايَةَ وَاِنصِفاقي
As is my stumbling in my cloak and tripping over it
And the dust of twilight, I try to avert it from myself
وَغَبراءَ القَتامِ جَلَوتُ عَنّي
بِعَجلى الطَرفِ سالِمَةِ المَآقِ
By quickly glancing while my eyes are still clear
And I roamed the horizons until
وَقَد طَوَّفتُ بِالآفاقِ حَتّى
سَئِمتُ النَضَّ بِالقُلُصِ العِتاقِ
I grew weary of roving around from place to place
When one place wearied me I moved to another
إِذا أَفنَيتُها بُدِّلتُ أُخرى
أَعُدُّ شُهورَها عَدَدَ الأَواقي
Counting its months like lunar mansions
But the years wore me out and do not themselves wear out
فَأَفنَتني السُنونَ وَلَيسَ تَفنى
وَتَعدادُ الأَهِلَّةِ وَالمُحاقِ
Nor do the counting of months and seasons
What fate has decreed marches on like a lion in the wild
وَما سَبَقَ الحَوادِثَ لَيثُ غابٍ
يَجُرُّ لِمَرسِهِ جَزَرَ الرِفاقِ
Dragging the caravan of comrades behind it
A dense darkness that even bright stars cannot penetrate
كُمَيتٌ تَعجِزُ الخُلَعاءُ عَنهُ
كَبَغلِ المَرجِ حَطَّ مِنَ الزِناقِ
Like a stubborn mule that broke free of its tether
It wrestles the prey from the mother of cubs
تُنازِعُهُ الفَريسَةَ أُمُّ شِبلٍ
عَبوسُ الوَجهِ فاحِشَةُ العِناقِ
Glowering, with a hideous embrace
No hero whom the horses shied away from out of fear
وَلا بَطَلٌ تَفادى الخَيلُ مِنهُ
فِرارَ الطَيرِ مِن بَرَدٍ بُعاقِ
Like the flight of birds from lightning's brilliance
A generous soul from Khuzaymah or Tamim
كَريمٌ مِن خُزَيةَ أَو تَميمٌ
أَغَرُّ عَلى مُسافِعَةٍ مِزاقِ
Noble in the face of hardships and trials
But if the fates mistake him
فَذلِكَ إِن تَخَطَّأَهُ المَنايا
فَكَيفَ يَقيهِ طولَ الدَهرِ واقِ
How can length of days protect him from death?
